Black Lives Matter

The months of June and July of 2016 were filled with an incredible amount of senseless loss of life. From the Orlando shootings at Pulse night club, to the police officer shootings of Philando Castile in Minnesota, Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., five police officers in Dallas, Texas and three police officers in Baton Rouge, La. The climate here in America has become thick with malice and hate for young black males and law enforcement officers. There have also been an increased number of thefts and violent robberies in beauty and hair weave supply locations.

I can’t help but feel outrage and frustration when I see the lack of compassion for our fellow men and woman. I have personally become guarded when I interact with strangers and yes, even police officers because you never know what may set off a devastating chain of events which could cause the loss of life.

What Does #BlackLivesMatter Mean?

According to www.blacklivesmatter.com when we say “Black Lives Matter”, we are broadening the conversation around state violence to include all of the ways in which black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state or police. We are talking about the ways in which black lives are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity to live.

The Guardian, a team of US-based journalists, states, “Young black men were nine times more likely than other Americans to be killed by police officers in 2015, according to the findings of a Guardian study that recorded a final tally of 1,134 deaths at the hands of law enforcement officers” in 2015 and over 600 deaths by July 20th 2016.

So when you see the statement “Black Lives Matter” it is just to let you know that everyone deserves to make it home to their family. These are your patrons, your beauty and barber supply customers, and above all fellow Americans. Stop the killing! Eliminate hate and replace it with LOVE! Keep up the good work!

For more statistics or reports on gun violence go to www.gunviolencearchive.org.